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Caught Red Wristed!

I got this in a gift set last year for just £3.00 from Tesco's website.
It came with the 100ml fragrance and the 75ml body spray and the body spray alone usually costs around £1.99 so I thought it’d be worth a go at that price. The set is usually £9.99.
I used to love this fragrance when I was in my teens and I had only ever had the body spray since then so was interested to try the fragrance again.

~ Scent ~
Charlie Red was released by Revlon in 1993 and is one of their most popular, long standing scents.
The top notes are orange blossom, gardenia, plum, blackcurrant, violet and peach.
The heart notes are carnation, tuberose, orchid, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and rose.
The base notes are honey, sandalwood, amber, musk and cedar.
I am always surprised to read how many notes are in this fragrance. It is definitely more floral than fruity to me. It has quite a sweet floral scent.
It is described as a floral oriental. It is very distinctive and unique.
For me the carnation note is one of the first to come through. I can’t really find any of the fruity notes in this fragrance. It is definitely more of a floral scent. I never think of it as being oriental, but thinking about it it does have an oriental feel to it with the slightly harsher florals having a slightly spicy scent. There are sweet florals and harsher florals in this fragrance. I think the notes are really well blended. As it wears on it has a powdery scent to it, which is clean and fresh, but the florals are definitely still there. I find it difficult to pick out any of the notes individually.
The fragrance has quite a heavy, sexy feel.
When I tried this bottle for the first time I was quite disappointed with it. It is no different to it was when I was a teenager, but on trying it again I thought it had quite a cheap smell, but the more I wear it the more I stop thinking it smells cheap.
I have only worn it a handful of times usually when I am just pottering around the house. It is nice, but I have nicer fragrances that I’d choose over this one. This one is quite thick and cloying. I don’t dislike it, but it certainly isn’t the happy ending it could have been between childhood sweethearts.
This was one of my favourites as a teenager, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that this fragrance is best suited to teenagers. It is quite heavy and doesn’t strike me as particularly young. I don’t think I would buy this fragrance again.
The fragrance has reasonable lasting power. It lasts on my skin for around 6 hours and I notice the scent on myself during that time.

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Revlon Charlie Red Eau de Toilette

Ok it might not be very cool after about 13 and certainly isn't sophisticated but I still love Charlie I Red. I used to always wear it when I was a teenager and it wasn't until my early twenties when I rediscovered it again thanks to a gift set I received at Christmas but it is now something that I wear on a regular basis.

Charlie Red is an 'oriental' fragrance and contains notes of orange blossom, plum, blackcurrent, tuberose, orchid, jasmine, rose, ylang ylang, honey, sandalwood and amber. As you can imagine with all those different notes this isn't a perfume which is for people who are afraid to be noticed.

The smell is gorgeous and it is like a spicy floral fragrance but I also think it is really refreshing even though it is quite heady. If I had read the notes before buying this I would probably have been a little worried that it was going to be too overpowering but it isn't. Even though it is quite a strong scent it isn't sickly smelling or too cloying.

Once this is on my skin it lasts for absolutely ages and I can smell it for hours afterwards and if I spray it on my clothes and then put them in the laundry basket I can still smell it off them days later when I go to do my laundry.

The best thing about Charlie Red is that it is so cheap. I can pick up a big 100ml bottle of this for only £5 and because it is so cheap I am not worried about spraying it as much as I want like I am with my more expensive perfumes.

I don't wear this everyday as I have to be in the right mood to enjoy it but when I am I really enjoy it and also I have had loads of people ask me what perfume I am wearing and it is always funny to see how shocked they are when I tell them it is Charlie Red as they think it is something more expensive.

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See review.

My mum always buys me Charlie sprays and lotions for my birthday or Christmas because I used to have a dog named Charlie and she wanted to buy me these products to remind me of my gorgeous dog who was taken from me some years ago. I pampered Charlie and loved him to bits and I always look forward to receiving my Charlie products. This one my mum bought me last year and I am just nearing the end of the bottle and looking forward to my next one soon when it is my birthday or for Christmas.

It comes in a glass bottle with a removable top. The bottle is kind of slim line but fairly big. It comes inside a red cardboard box too. I think the bottle looks really nice because it has the name Charlie over the front of the bottle and I love looking at it on my dresser.

I wear this one as a day spray and not for special occasions, it sprays a very fine mist onto the skin and smells really nice for wearing during the day when I am not going out or when I am just going somewhere not so special. It dries really quickly on the skin and almost immediately and so I can get dressed immediately after showering.

I think this one is a quite a strong fragrance and it does last for a good few hours before I need to top up. I don't mind topping up during the day with a day time spray. It does have a fairly lasting power on the skin in my opinion.

It has a kind of sweet fragrance and one which is slightly fruity but with an added perfume is best way I can describe this one. The fragrance isn't too sweet to smell too sickly or unpleasant and it isn't a nasty smell at all. In my opinion it doesn't smell cheap and nobody has ever told me I don't smell nice while wearing this spray. In fact I have had people tell me I smell nice while I am wearing this spray and so it cannot have a nasty smell because some of my friends would most definitely tell me if I did because some of them are very outspoken but this has never happened. So all good.

I think this one would be ideal for buying for teenagers who are just starting out wearing sprays of this kind, it is affordable for them to wear to school or for wearing to go out for the day and get used to smelling of a perfume. It is a nice one for a gift which is affordable if you don't have much money or are on a low budget or for a birthday present for someone who is connected to the name Charlie for a bit of fun.

My mum has bought me it in a gift set the last time I received my gift and the bottle size in the set is 50ml and it comes with a body spray too, The set is really nice and usually costs around £10 or so for the set. She has also bought me the 100ml bottle size too and I think the larger bottle costs just short of £5 and so really affordable if you want to just buy the bottle and not the body spray. She only buys the gift set for Christmas usually because she knows I buy the body spray all the time and the 2 look better together in a box set for Christmas. The body spray is handy to carry in my bag to top up during the day while outdoors.

If you do like a sweet smelling fragrance, I don't think you would be disappointed with this spray, I think you would be amazed how nice it does smell being a cheaper one in my opinion.

I have found it doesn't irritate my skin at all being such a cheap spray and it has not caused any rashes. I know my mum will keep on buying me this one and I am very happy to receive it for a day time spray and she knows I like it a lot, even though it is a cheap one. It is wise to look around for this one to purchase it at the best price possible because the price does vary in different shops. I have seen it available in chemists and good beauty shops.

It is a good quality spray and very good value for money in my opinion and such a pleasure to wear during the day when I am indoors or just popping out to the shops and want to smell nice.

Also on Ciao under my username pinky50.

I give this one 5 stars.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it has been of some help.

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A great light daytime perfume for less that a fiver!!

I thought I would right a review about an old favourite of mine from many years ago. I can't believe that this perfume was first launched nearly 20 years ago, when I first started to use it! Ahhhh the memories of times with my children!!!!

Made by Revlon, this perfume when first launched onto the market was very popular indeed, I don't know if it was because the bottle seemed very trendy at the time or the scent was more modern and lighter than the usual scents that were about. As Estee Lauder, Channel No5 and Doir were not only very expensive but had a very heavy smell to them, where this was a light daytime smell perfect for the school runs first thing in the morning. At the school gate there must have been an almighty waft of Charlie Red to anyone passing as all my friends wore it as well!!

Coming in a frosted glass bottle that was more of a soft triangular shape, with the word "Charlie" signed onto the front of the bottle in red writing with "Red" written underneath. The lid consisted of a circular silver top that covered a spray top. This bottle comes packaged in a large red box usually being 100ml. You can also get a matching body spray as well, which is handy for a quick spray and top up at work to keep in your handbag.

The fragrance for this perfume consists of a blend of violet, rose, apricot and lilly of the valley, accompanied by fruity notes of fresh citrus and plum. For staying power I would say that it lasts a lot longer than some of the other much more expensive perfumes that I have used in the past.

About 5 years ago my youngest son had been out around town as most 17 year olds do and came walking in through the front door, heading straight to me with a large smile on his face he said " Here Mum got you a little present today!" when I opened the bag sitting inside was a bottle of Charlie Red, well I hadn't seen this in years and to be honest had completely forgotten that it even existed. My son said that he had seen it in a shop and it had reminded him of when he was small when I used to wear it all the time. What a lovely gesture I thought, I've still got the empty bottle now!!!

So why not have a Blast from the Past and get a bottle of this Charlie Red, I can't believe that it only costs £4.99 for 100ml, of course it can't be put on the top shelf with the likes of Lady Million, Daisy( Marc Jacobs), Youth Dew ect.... but it is worth having a bottle just for having a quick spray when you are just lazing around or in my case to bring back much loved memories!!!!!

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a lovely gift

Last Christmas, along with all the other smelly bath things, make ups and perfumes, I was bought the Charlie Red box set, this consisted of the Charlie Red perfume and also a Charlie Red body spray. I never really had tried Charlie Red perfumes before and was a little sceptical on whether I would like it, but now I am really glad that I was bought it as it really is a lovely fragrance.

The Charlie Red Fragrance I really like the Charlie Red scent. It has quite a fresh scent to it and is a very feminine fragrance. This perfume can be described as a oriental floral fragrance. I really like the Charlie Red scent, and have been asked by others what perfume I was wearing on different occasions because other people liked it and wanted it

The Eau De ToiletteYou get a 100ml bottle of the Eua De Toilette. This is quite a big bottle of perfume in my opinion and it has lasted me ages. I find that you do not need too much of this perfume at a time as it does smell a little strong. It lasts throughout the day quite well, however sometimes I do top it up when I get home from work and am getting ready to leave the house again if I am going somewhere nice.

The Body SprayYou get a 75ml tube of Body Spray in this set. I found that this spray isn't as strong as the eau de toilette, it is however just as nice. I find this spray handy to keep in my handbag, and just freshen up throughout the day.

Price and AvailabilityI have seen this gift set in Boots and also in Superdrug before, around the Christmas periods. It is also available on Amazon.com for around £5. I think that this is a fantastic price and a lovely little gift to give or receive.

OverallI think that this is a really nice fragrance. It is cheap, has nice staying power and smells lovely. The bottle of perfume is really nice and the body spray is handy to take around with me in my handbag or when I am travelling. Overall I would give this 5 out of 5 stars.

*also on ciao under lorrainek90

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More for the teenagers

*~*Introduction and reason for purchase*~*

For some reason I received an abundance of 'Charlie' gift sets for Christmas last year and whilst I'm not complaining I just thought it was odd given I've never worn it in my life. All I can presume is there was some kind of special offer going on at the time as I received both gift sets and the EDT in singular form in a variety of different 'colours' of fragrances from several different friends and family members.

As I have a large stock of toiletries and beauty items I'm still making way through Christmas and Birthday gift sets from last year and the latest I opened was this EDT by Charlie. To be more specific it's the Charlie Red, and having used it for a few weeks now my review will now focus on my experience of using this..

*~*Price, packaging & availability*~*

Though this was a gift as mentioned, it is readily available from most chemists and shops/ supermarkets as the brand 'Charlie' has been around for a many number of years and is made by cosmetic giants Revlon. Charlie Red however was introduced back in 1993 where it has become one of the most popular of the 'colours' and costing a mere £4 upwards for a 100 ml bottle it's easy to understand why as it's a 'cheap and cheerful' scent to buy.

Charlie Red comes housed in a thick and sturdy transparent glass bottle. The bottle looks flat from the front view though it does actually have a triangular appearance as it veers to a point towards the back. With it's iconic logo of 'Charlie' and 'Red' emblazoned on the front there is little all else in the way of decoration with the bottle's design being overall a simplistic affair that is topped off with a narrow silver coloured lid perched directly on top.

The bottle is presented in a cardboard box which is a bright red in colour and also when on the shelf is far more eye catching than the bottle itself.

*~*The fragrance itself*~*

Charlie Red is classed as an Oriental/ Floral fragrance and is made up of the following:

This is the 4th Charlie colour EDT that I have been bought and I have to say it's not my favourite. I'm quite a fan generally of oriental based fragrances but I find that there just seems to be so much going on here note wise that it's hard to pick out anything in particular.

The first thing I noticed when removing the lid was the initial scent that escaped via the nozzle and to be honest it reminded me slightly of hairspray. This obviously didn't stand it in good stead for wearing it as you can imagine so I already had low expectations at this point before even testing it out properly.

On pressing the nozzle down the EDT emits at a rapid pace and is very watery and heavy like - it doesn't come out in a fine mist at all and is quite cumbersome and plain awkward to apply as even the smallest of presses to the lid still causes a large soggy mess to emit.

Once applied to my skin I was relieved to find that the 'hairspray' aroma seemed to fade and more individual notes started to shine through and there was an obvious burst of fruitiness with the black currant and plum being noticeable. Once the EDT started to settle onto my skin the heart notes started to make themselves known and the fragrance starts to turn from fruity to very floral at this point making it slightly sickly and overpowering.

Charlie Red's saving grace for me are the base notes which once again change the direction of the EDT completely as once it starts to fade it also starts to develop into a much warmer and woody based scent. I could clearly pick out the honey as it offers a rich and succulent aroma that is quite captivating and makes the whole dry down well worth the wait once the 'hairspray' phase had passed!

*~*Recommended?*~*

On first applying this to my skin I was far from impressed I have to admit and the initial hairspray aroma was enough to put me off using this for life. After persevering though I was quite content with the warm woody aroma that was eventually left on my skin afterwards and it is far more pleasant than it first seems.

I really wouldn't describe this as being remotely oriental based at all really as it starts out with a fruity burst of mainly berries before turning floral then eventually woody. I do quite like woody, earthy fragrances but was disappointed that it's not as oriental as it promises so that is a bit of a let down.

Longevity this is actually quite impressive as a few spritzes of Charlie Red on my pulse points were enough to suffice for over 6 hours - for an EDT that is indeed impressive stuff as I have EDP's that don't last as long when applied, so for the money this is certainly good value as the 100 ml bottle seems *huge* and looks like it will last me forever at this rate.

Despite my reservations this is actually quite a nice scent once 'settled' though as stated it's not my favourite of the Charlie fragrances that I've tried up to date - Charlie Pink holds that title as it's the most beautiful that I've come across (so far). Charlie Red is a pleasant enough scent and does last when sprayed but it has a slight 'cheapness' scent wise about compared to some of the other Charlie EDT's that just lessens it's appeal unfortunately.

I will use this bottle up though as I'm not a wasteful person but it's not one that I would choose myself in the future and that's not a snobby opinion as I adore Charlie Pink, I just find this too overpowering and really not my cup of tea but it will suffice as a general daytime scent. I would say this is suited to the younger market more and is certainly not what I would class as an evening fragrance as it is too heavy and not in a good way.

This is a cheap and cheerful enough EDT yes, but unfortunately fragrance wise isn't for me at all and in comparison with some of the other Charlie fragrances this is a poor substitute.